In its endeavour to attract international investors for its tourism projects, Andhra Pradesh showcased its tourism potential at the UAE – India Economic Forum 2016 in Dubai. The state beckoned international investors for developing tourism projects in 79 virgin land parcels spread across 13 districts in the State.

Delivering the keynote address at the UAE-India Economic Forum 2016 in Dubai, Tourism Secretary N. Srikanth said, “Our aspiration is to develop Andhra Pradesh as one of the most preferred destinations globally. To fulfil this dream and give a major fillip to tourism, we aim to create a world-class tourism infrastructure in the State duly supported by best-in-class hotels, most modern rail, road and air network and excel in every aspect of tourism infrastructure development.”

The State has set apart a total area of 1,279 acres for tourism projects and categorised these projects under seven major themes such as MICE, beaches, recreation, eco-tourism, religious tourism, wayside amenities and heritage/historic tourism.

Andhra Pradesh launched Tourism Mission launched last year along with a tourism policy envisaging multiple incentives for investors which includes both fiscal and non-fiscal incentives. So far projects worth Rs. 4,019 crore have been realised in the last one year with another Rs. 10,000 crore of investments in the pipeline.

Tourism Secretary appealed to industry leaders to invest in tourism projects in Andhra Pradesh citing illustrious history of economic and trade relation between India-UAE.

“We assure you all-round cooperation from a favourable land lease policy, to fiscal benefits and non-fiscal incentives. With a single desk window in place we assure clearance of all approvals in 21 days. Our focus is on fast-tracking projects to enhance infrastructure and tourist engagement,” he said.

Andhra Pradesh has been ranked No. 2 in Ease of Doing Business by the World Bank (2014-15).